The train attack suspect after being disarmed by a passenger.
The train attack suspect after being disarmed by a passenger.
Barefoot, blindfolded and dressed only in blue hospital pyjamas, the Moroccan gunman accused of attacking passengers on a train from Amsterdam to Paris was led into a court building in the French capital.
Ayoub El-Khazzani, 25, was placed under formal investigation for "attempted murder with terrorist intent", the court wastold. He has been charged with terrorism offences.
Blindfolding terrorist and murder suspects during transfers from custody to court is an increasingly common practice in France, but the attire of the suspect prompted debate about whether he was being deliberately humiliated. Khazzani's shoes came off as passengers in a first-class carriage struggled to overpower him. He was beaten unconscious, which may explain the hospital clothes.
Prosecutor Francois Molins said that after boarding the train in Brussels, the suspect watched a YouTube jihadist video on his mobile phone. He dismissed Khazzani's "far-fetched" denial of terrorist motives and his claim he planned to rob passengers and then jump out. No numbers were saved on Khazzani's phone, which the prosecutor said was "activated shortly before he took the train". He was carrying 270 rounds of ammunition and a bottle of petrol.
Belgian investigators also searched the home of his sister, who has posted messages supporting jihad on an internet forum. They established he recently stayed there, although he told police he had been sleeping in a park. Khazzani's claim to have found the weapons in a suitcase in the park were also judged "unbelievable". Investigators are trying to trace possible accomplices.
According to prosecutors' documents quoted by the AFP news agency, Khazzani is accused of carrying out a "targeted and premeditated" jihadist attack, firearms offences and "participation in a terrorist association with a view to organising one or several damaging crimes".
Airport-style screening plan
Railway passengers in Europe could be subject to airport-style screening at intercity stations, under plans being considered by the European Union in response to the foiled Arras train attack.
Train operators could be obliged to introduce surveillance cameras in every carriage and stations instructed to install scanners for passengers boarding high-speed trains.
For the first time, Brussels officials are drawing up plans to create common EU rules on railway security. At the moment it is a national competence.
It follows the introduction of EU-wide security rules for air and sea travel in the wake of the attacks on September 11, 2001.
A committee of transport security experts will meet in Brussels on September 11 to discuss how to respond to the Arras attack, and ask whether boarding a high-speed train should be more like getting on an aircraft.
Their proposals will be discussed by EU transport ministers in October. Legislation would require support from the European Parliament and member states. Any proposals are likely to meet with resistance from the railway industry because of the cost.
